All too often, people complain that there’s nothing for families to do in San Angelo. Elena Kent, artistic director of Be Theatre, begs to differ.

“Dear Edwina Jr.,” Be Theatre’s upcoming youth mainstage production, is a case in point. The musical comedy centers on Edwina, a younger, spunkier version of Dear Abby, who, from the family garage, offers advice to her friends in the form of song in an effort to catch the attention of visiting talent scouts.

“We just want to be a part of” the entertainment options for families in San Angelo,” Kent said. “It’s a great family night out. It’s a great way to spend an hour and a half. It teaches lessons. And maybe kids may walk away with the lessons, and (audiences will) be pleasantly surprised with how talented these kids are.

“A lot of different musicals are written for three or four leads, and everyone else is in the background and sings … but it’s really fun to do shows where everyone feels like they’ve got a lead at some point.”

Throughout the year, Be Theatre offers a variety of programming – from shows targeted toward mature audience to those geared more for families and youth, Kent said, but “Dear Edwina Jr.” is the theater’s first mainstage youth production in its season since 2014.

“We think it’s important to get the kids some exposure in a regular theater season,” she said, adding that the cast comprises children ages 8 to 13. “I really think the youth are just as entertaining and talented as any adults and kind of get underestimated when it comes to performance art. It gives the kids a certain amount of confidence when you as an adult give them a mainstage performance because it tells those 19 kids that you trust them and you believe in them, and you know they’re just as good as the adults that we cast and put on stage.”

Directed by Suzy Roberts, “Dear Edwina Jr.” is the culmination of a youth workshop that began in August, Kent said.

“We have them for two and a half months, whereas most casts come in four to six weeks before a show,” she said. “This is something we’ve been working on a couple times a week through the fall. Last week we were together every day of the week, and this week we’ll be together every day of the week until we open on (Nov. 3).”

With so much time spent together working toward a common goal, the growth among the cast has been evident, she said.

“Of course you see them grow musically; you see them grow as actors because they’re memorizing, they're sparking that part of their brain that has to engage in learning and bettering their craft,” Kent said.

“But in young people, where you really see the growth from A to Z is the way they start to understand what it means to be company and part of a unified group. That can mean anything from listening and not bossing people around to not being upset if someone’s in the wrong spot or forgets a line. Kids tend to want to fix things immediately, so they’ve had to learn to listen and guide each other and not try to be controlling.”